Dunt dunt dunt, another one bites the dust...

[Scoot]

Another season in the books. How was your year? Mine was a tough one- busted trips to LOW, not a lot of fishing at home this year, and some tough outtings for me. I still managed to get some fish in the net, put one biggie in the boat too, and I saw the Queen Mother of all Muskies this year (wouldn't eat...) It was a fun year, but I was frustrated a lot this year...

What's the nutshell version of your year?

[mainbutter]

Caught my first musky, a 48er nonetheless!

Proceeded to land two other big'uns and have lots of fun learning to hunt this fish for the first time. I wish I could get out more, but lacking a personal boat I have to rely on friends to get me out

Not bad for my first summer living in MN I think.

[mrfish1991]

had 2 ski's on while fishing for bass, both were around 20" and shook my senko when they jumped. I dont target skis but its fun to catch something a little different every once in a while

[50inchpig]

Had my doubts about the season after relocating to the metro this spring but the fishing was great. I owe a lot of my success to the network (most important element of success) and that one spot that gave up fish after fish after fish after fish.

Highlights -

Wife catching the first fish of the year on a surface bait in the dark

T and Velo each get their PBs the same night

Velo catching the fish I lost at boatside 5 seconds prior, you still owe me for that one, dude

2 fish in 20 minutes using new technique, bunch more in the following weeks

Blind figure 8 fish in the dark - lots of fun

3 fish night including that fat slob

Netting DeBo's 51"

All the shallow fish

Catching half my fish on Homemades

Sticking one in the last few hours of the season

Being in the right place at the right time far more often than in seasons past

Met and fished with a bunch of new people.

Can't reflect on a great season without giving a shout out to the guys who work tirelessly for the metro fishery and other lakes around the state - you know who you are. We'll see you at the MI meetings this winter.

[mainbutter]

I'll go ahead and take this thread a step further to list my hopes for next season after reflecting on this season.

I hope to:

- catch a musky while in a canoe

- catch my first topwater WTD musky

- catch a musky on a homemade lure

- catch a musky after dark

[Nick Kuhn]

My season started out on fire but fizzled out late. No fish boated for me after the 4th of July, though my brothers managed to land a few in that time (often fish I moved first). I did a lot better this year at moving fish, but did quite a bit worse triggering strikes. I did get a new PB tiger though, so it wasn't a complete wash. Next year will be my 3rd full season chasing them so hopefully 3rd times the charm.

FYI season doesn't have to be over, they extended Wisconsin's southern zone season to the end of the year, so one could make a trip to Madison if they so chose.

[DeBo101]

Well its been my best season by far. Netted more skis than all of my previous years combined, and had quite a bit of fun in the process. Only fished one new lake this year (White Bear) but started to learn Tonka well enough to catch fish somewhat consistently out there.

Highlights:

Getting a 48.25incher to eat a hellhound and the attached 1lb pike 20 minutes into the season (As near as I can tell the ski ate the pike immediately. Rear hook small pike front hook my biggest ski at the time).

Catching 2-49.75inchers 10 minutes apart in August (So CLose!).

Finally fishing a night shift on White Bear and Netting 3 nice ones for 50inchPig (I managed only a delicious bass for my efforts).

Losing a cow on Tonka in October but getting redemption with my first 50 in November. 51 inches bit on the figure 8 and was netted by 50InchPig. Which now partially validates his screen name (HaHa).

Canada was awesome as always. The metro offers some of the finest musky catching available but the shield offers the best musky fishing on the planet.

Low Lights:

Getting our butts handed to us for 4 days on cass in september.

One broken Luna. One broken lowrance 520 and the day I got it back my Lowrance 510 took a [PoorWordUsage].

Not netting any fish for Nater. He was kind enough to net 4 for me and was along for some of the craziest boatside action yet.

And yes shout outs are in order for EVERYONE behind the scenes that works their butt off for the minnesota musky fishery. Thanks guys. It's pretty amazing that I live in Winsted and have 3 lakes within 28 miles with 50in + fish available.

[Shoot2Kill]

Muskies - WOW. What else can a guy say. I was introduced to the virus on July 3rd and spent nearly evey second since that night thinking about these crazy fish. I bought a boat back in June before I hit the muskie bug....it was one of those "I've lived in MN for 4 years, I better buy a boat".....well, I bought it, and it sat in my yard for a few weeks while I kind of had buyers remorse about getting it because although I fished a ton in the past I really hadn't figured out "lake fishing" after growing up only fishing rivers and I was a bit apprehensive about tackleing the whole lake scene.

All of that went by the wayside the night of July 3rd when I fished with a good friend that showed me why I live in MN, why I bought a boat, and what I was to do with it!

From this -

To this....in 9 days back in August -

Yes, there was a reason in buying that boat, I just didn't know it at the time!

I can't complain one bit about my season - I had wanted to fish for them since moving here, but I knew I was clueless - I didn't know the first thing about Muskies - NOTHING, until I fished for them on the 3rd...after that day I learned the meanings of all kinds of new words "raised a fish, Double Cow Girl, Bull Dawg, Pacemaker, Hell hound, Calcutta, figure 8 etc...the list goes on and on. I also learned first hand just how flippin' expensive it is to chase these fish and how important it is to have QUALITY gear and not garbage - something I will continue to work on over the winter and spring before next season.

I made some great new friends, fished a lot of new lakes, moved fish on nearly every lake I fished, put a total of 6 in the net, put a 51 in the boat on my first time out - haha, I know - I'm ruined for life, netted my buddies new PB back in August, caught 2 solo fish and managed to successfully CPR them both, and then it happened...my first lost fish of the year 2 days ago on my last trip out! Ha! I knew that was eventually going to happen so I'm glad I got it out of the way this year instead of dreading it next season!

I was active duty Air Force in Alaska before moving to MN - for nearly 4 years I could not find my nitch here in MN after living up there - I could not be convinced that anything here in MN compared to what AK had to offer.....thankfully I joined my buddy in his boat that night because at 11:50 pm on July 3rd I found my replacment for AK and I actually don't mind living in MN now. haha. I LOVE THESE FISH!

[Brett Waldera]

It was a tougher year than normal for me too. I never did get on a consistant pattern all season. A few good days thrown in here and there...but a few poor days too.

Highlight for me was a 54" and 54.5" PB fish the same day from two different lakes on two different baits.

Hope the ice bite for pannies and eyes is consistant...if we ever get ice. Scoot... we'll have to get out again.

Brett Waldera

[ole matty]

Best and worst season for me, was in slump after losing 8 fish in low 2 over 48" , 6 on same friggin lake. Finally broke out the slump with 41" on forest lake * broke 40" on flake after few sub 40 ski*

Move a lot of fish than ever on various of baits mostly dcg, pacemaker and gliders

Used pacemaker and gliders more than ever

Fished with a few great guys this year include ty sennett and chris munchow. Even tho chris is local guide but wow he is one of nicest people I had met in muskie fishing world.

[Tonka Boy]

May-June was great for numbers. Spent some time learning WI waters.

July-Sept I didn't get out much (baby).

Oct-Nov wasn't as good as years past, but I still seem to put some decent fish in the boat. There's a mid to high 50's that's still out there though! I'll get you next year...

Didn't break 50 for the first time in 6 years. Closest was 49.99999999". LOL

[HugoBox]

The highlight of the year wass a five fish night - all between 40 and 46. The best part was the two guys with me were musky rookies and both got their first. One is a tourney eye chaser who now has the ski bug as bad as me!!

Another great part of the year was getting to know a some really good guys (many from here) and networking with them. Not sure how to quantify it but I think we collectively caught a lot more fish by keeping in touch.

Finally, all fish that hit my net swam away pretty strongly so I feel good about not doing any real damage to them this year, which isn't always the case.

[dcmusky]

Got a monster so I can't complain Now next is to catch some muskie lakes

[MikeEiden]

Nice first fish Mainbutter! A 4 footer to start out is like starting with 105 degree fever! And sweet work on the boat S2K!! Glad to see you got it slimed also...

For me I didn't fish as much as I would like or hoped for this year. Maybe an afternoon a couple times a month but still managed a few fish here and there. Had many fish going on the 8 trying to eat and just not connecting and a few midnight boatside blow ups just to come up wet and no fish on.

As a last minute panic with the season coming to an end I made an effort to get out and fish when possible. Glad I did since I was able to boat 7 fish in 4 half day trips. Plus I netted some of the largest pike I've caught out of these lakes as a bonus.

I'm in denial and can't believe it's over!

[bassmann77]

My highlight was catching a muskie on Father's Day and then my Dad catching one 20 minutes later. It is a tradition that we get out together on Father's day and that experience made it even more enjoyable.

[bronzeback]

Every part of this season seems like a highlight to me now that I'm looking back on it, though I'm sure there were a few times I was out that I wasn't so happy. Some of the more memorable moments were early in the season when my cousin from Nebraska was up here and he was able to witness two boatside strikes and the ensuing battles. Unfortunatley he didn't hook into one, but we've got a pretty decent pattern worked out now so next year should be his year.

Another highlight came right before one of the biggest thunderstorms of the summer when my friend caught his personal best (lengthwise at least) 51-52" fish. 10 minutes later we got drenched and were dodging lightning bolts on our way back to the landing.

I think the biggest triumph for us this season came when we actually figured out a pattern and knew days/nights when/where to fish/not to fish. We put a lot of fish in the boat after we figured that out, and was even able to get a muskie rookie his first 40+ inch fish with a nice 44" about 5 minutes after his first cast with a muskie rod.

Multiple fish days/nights and a lot of beauties boated along with my personal best of the year made this a hard season for me to top, but I'm looking forward to trying. Gonna be a long winter.

[TurnUpTheFishing]

I saw and caught(5 total) more 'skis in this season than ever before. Also a new PB of 41". While all my stats are pretty lackluster, Im not a strict muskie guy and am somewhat new to 'skis, hopefully the new success is the result of me improving on my muskie fishing knowledge and hopefully more gains to come next year.

Shoot2Kill, That is an awesome job on that boat. My first boat will probably be a project boat like that and ill be thrilled if it turns out that good.

[setterguy]

I'd say I'm happy with how my season went overall. Seemed to figure a few more things out almost every time out.

Numbers were better than ever, no real big fish but lots of fun fish. I think the highlight of my year was my 6 year old son telling me he wants to start muskie fishing. His birthday is June 2nd. How perfect is that for a muskie fisherman?

Already looking forward to next year.

[Musky Buck]

Can't complain, averaged more than a fish a trip for the first time in my muskie chasing days, been at it since 1988. Went 17 times and boated 21 fish. I've learned it isn't how much you go but when you go. In a 7 day week there might be 2 of those days I consider multiple fish days, I must be on the water for those and not on the water beating a dead horse, getting wore out for that 1 chance, save your ammunition for prime time days !

[cjac]

Had a good year despite my back making me shut it down too early and missing out on the late Fall window.

Positives:

Caught more this season than before despite limited time. Night time is not hard fishing if you're prepared for it, keep a clean and organized boat (as you should anytime) and good things will come. Hard to argue with a summer Friday night and a lake all to yourself more or less, with a couple fish hitting the net. 10 million candle power spotlight is a must for safety and it sure helps for navigation. I won't night fish without it.

Wind: Learning to let the wind be an asset not a detriment was my biggest learning curve win this year. Wind can actually make thigs fairly simple as far as where to go and it makes you become better at boat control, which carrys over into any fishing situation.

Network: A few guys established a good communication base for sharing what was working and what wasn't. Led to me meeting and getting to know and fish with some really good guys.

Different waters: Had a streak of 4 fish, 4 different lakes, 4 times out. Not great, but the point being fishing different lakes can be fun and rewarding. Patterns do carry to an extent, as does the lesson of abandoning a pattern and mixing it up from lake to lake as conditions dictate.

Gear: Like the Saltist for speed, but the 40 is heavy! Looking to downsize to the 20. Knipex is money for an easy release, hooks are cheap, a dead fish or an ER visit is not. Every bait doesn't have to be 12 inches long... I caught several on a topwater with a 4 inch body. Nice little lure...easy to cast, easy to fish, and it works!

Downside:

Stupid me: Boated two fish in 4 hours on a lake claose to my house, very close. Didn't go back.....can't say why other than I was stupid.

Fig 8s: Still need to execute better, I don't think there's such a thing as too fast. Missed a couple hot fish I no doubt should have converted.

Hook sets: Same as above, no such thing as too hard a set, had a couple on that I should have driven the hooks home on and lost.

Besides that, I mixed it up a bit and went after different fish. Had fun with bass and no one can argue with a 20 inch samllie as fun. Also tried the Croix sturgeon this year, what a blast! Had a night with 4 fish over 45 inches and one being over 60 inches. That was the day of the metro muskie tourney, so if sturgeon counted I would have won it! Fun stuff, and all right here in the metro. Oh yeah, catfish too....

Good times, good stories, and looking forward to more in 2010.

Chris

[MUSKY18]

Would have to say that there were far, far more downs than ups to my musky year. I didn't put nearly as many hours on the water as I have in previous years. When I did manage to get out on the water, I did move fish, but had a very hard time getting them to eat. Lots of lookers but no takers. Think I was jinxed when I hooked my first fish of the year and it got off before my net man could stop watching me fight the fish and actually get the darn net! My fault for not having him prepared what to do.

I think one of the biggest upsides to the season was getting on new water and learning it to the point that I was able to have a two fish night (47 and 36) on my third night on the lake.

Biggest upside to my season, without a thought, was all the time I was able to spend in the boat with my son. Although he still has to catch his very first musky, being 10 he has many years ahead of him to do that. I cherish every minute that I have him in the boat with me. Next season we are playing a weekend trip up north together....can't wait.